The Kingdom Is the Crux of the Problem Part 1
Now here we come to the crux of the problem that blocks the entrance to the kingdom; all else is marginal, this is central, everything else is a symptom. What I am about to share with you is the disease. The Kingdom of self versus the Kingdom of God. It was so when Jesus presented the Kingdom of God's total answer and is still so today. Strangely enough, self is made by its inner structure for the Kingdom of God. When man opposes the Kingdom of God, he opposes himself. Self is the destructive disease.
Focus Point: Now, take the crucial moment when Jesus asked the crucial question of His disciples, "Who do you say I am?" Upon the lips of Peter trembled the great confession:
Matthew 16:15-16
He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
This was the great moment. They followed Him on the basis that He was a good man, a prophet. Now they saw that He was God's redemptive invasion of mankind; God manifested in the flesh. From that moment you would have thought everything would have fit into place. God incarnated had visited and redeemed His people. But strangely enough, nothing goes right. Everything goes wrong in the rest of the chapter (Matthew 16:21-28)
Now the question that comes up is, Why? Well, they knew that He was the Son of God, but they did not know that self-giving love was at the center of His being, the Son of God, and He was at the center of the Kingdom of God.
Keep in mind, they expected Him to ride into Jerusalem, assert His power and set up His kingdom, and they would ride in with Him. It would have been self-assertive with Him and with them. Remember! Two of them even picked out the seats they wanted to occupy.
Matthew 20:20-21
Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Him with her sons, kneeling down and asking something from Him. And He said to her, “What do you wish?” She said to Him, “Grant that these two sons of mine may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on the left, in Your kingdom.”
Please note: Once again they were seeking and looking for a position for themselves. Looking out for number one (self)
Jesus was frank and honest, and He proceeded to let them know that at the center of His being, He, the Son of the living God, was a self-giving love. He was going to Jerusalem to lay down His life. They must take their crosses and follow Him. Then He stated the most important thing that was ever said in history:
Matthew 16:25
For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.
Focus Point: Nothing stated concerning life and relationships was ever more important than that. They didn't understand what He was saying because it was hidden from them. Now the question is, why was it hidden from them? Because they didn't want to understand it. Keep this in mind, His self-giving involved their self-giving. That was one thing they were not prepared to do! "Self" was all in the way. So, Peter, leading in the great confession that Jesus was the Son of God, now led in the rejection of the central thing in His being the Son of God--self-giving love at a cross. Peter had a Kingdom mindset, but it was all about doing it through self.
Question: Do you remember what Peter did when the chief priests and Pharisees came with a detachment of troops in the garden?
John 18:10-11
Then Simon Peter, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s servant, and cut off his right ear. The servant’s name was Malchus. So Jesus said to Peter, “Put your sword into the sheath. Shall I not drink the cup which My Father has given Me?”
Focus: Like so many of us today, we feel that we have to fight for Jesus or the church. We were never told anywhere in God's Constitution to fight, but to submit to the King. Jesus has legions of angels ready to fight for Him, as well as for us.
James 4:7
Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.
Keep in mind that our weapons are not carnal.
II Corinthians 10:4
For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds
~~W.R. Luchie
Focus Point: Now, take the crucial moment when Jesus asked the crucial question of His disciples, "Who do you say I am?" Upon the lips of Peter trembled the great confession:
Matthew 16:15-16
He said to them, “But who do you say that I am?” Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”
This was the great moment. They followed Him on the basis that He was a good man, a prophet. Now they saw that He was God's redemptive invasion of mankind; God manifested in the flesh. From that moment you would have thought everything would have fit into place. God incarnated had visited and redeemed His people. But strangely enough, nothing goes right. Everything goes wrong in the rest of the chapter (Matthew 16:21-28)
Now the question that comes up is, Why? Well, they knew that He was the Son of God, but they did not know that self-giving love was at the center of His being, the Son of God, and He was at the center of the Kingdom of God.
Keep in mind, they expected Him to ride into Jerusalem, assert His power and set up His kingdom, and they would ride in with Him. It would have been self-assertive with Him and with them. Remember! Two of them even picked out the seats they wanted to occupy.
Matthew 20:20-21
Then the mother of Zebedee’s sons came to Him with her sons, kneeling down and asking something from Him. And He said to her, “What do you wish?” She said to Him, “Grant that these two sons of mine may sit, one on Your right hand and the other on the left, in Your kingdom.”
Please note: Once again they were seeking and looking for a position for themselves. Looking out for number one (self)
Jesus was frank and honest, and He proceeded to let them know that at the center of His being, He, the Son of the living God, was a self-giving love. He was going to Jerusalem to lay down His life. They must take their crosses and follow Him. Then He stated the most important thing that was ever said in history:
Matthew 16:25
For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.
Focus Point: Nothing stated concerning life and relationships was ever more important than that. They didn't understand what He was saying because it was hidden from them. Now the question is, why was it hidden from them? Because they didn't want to understand it. Keep this in mind, His self-giving involved their self-giving. That was one thing they were not prepared to do! "Self" was all in the way. So, Peter, leading in the great confession that Jesus was the Son of God, now led in the rejection of the central thing in His being the Son of God--self-giving love at a cross. Peter had a Kingdom mindset, but it was all about doing it through self.
Question: Do you remember what Peter did when the chief priests and Pharisees came with a detachment of troops in the garden?
John 18:10-11
Then Simon Peter, having a sword, drew it and struck the high priest’s servant, and cut off his right ear. The servant’s name was Malchus. So Jesus said to Peter, “Put your sword into the sheath. Shall I not drink the cup which My Father has given Me?”
Focus: Like so many of us today, we feel that we have to fight for Jesus or the church. We were never told anywhere in God's Constitution to fight, but to submit to the King. Jesus has legions of angels ready to fight for Him, as well as for us.
James 4:7
Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.
Keep in mind that our weapons are not carnal.
II Corinthians 10:4
For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds
~~W.R. Luchie